It was blowing a beautiful steady 20kt Northerly when we set off from Fairbourne unsupported last Tuesday. Sea conditions were fairly lumpy, but progress was good with a steady verage of 15kts on the GPS and straighline speeds of 25kts +. The first leg to Aberdovey was completed in about 1 hour 15mins and then we hooked up with Frank Nickless and Mike Thomas, support boat drivers, to do a further leg to Aberystwyth, which proved to be valuable training for all the team.

 

Some really useful lessons learned on how to stay together on a completely downwind course when tacking across the wake of the boat and also some further ideas on what will be the most ideal forecast for wind direction and strength. Too downwind and the overall track speed is slow at around 10-12kts although it is comfortable to sail and for the guys in the support boat. Too square to the wind and speeds are good, but it is tiring on the one leg. A broad reach would be ideal on the day!